Wedding Week: Anniversary Adventures

WARNING: PICTURE OVERLOAD!!!!!!

So I left you off with THIS post about what I gifted Scott this year for our 4th wedding anniversary (and our previous anniversary gifts) and also had mentioned that I planned a surprise Anniversary Adventure for 2hotty!!!

Nominee for the Best Wife in the World.......ME perhaps?!?!?!

Well I showed you this book which was the spark to the fuel that made me decide on what I was going to do for him this year!!

Yes I know BEER was the theme and I was going to run with it (who am I?!?!)!!

I figured what better place to take Scott than a place where they make the stuff.......no?!?!!  Yup I took him to a local brewery!!  Have you ever tried a Spotted Cow before?!?!  Well if you have.........that particular beer comes from New Glarus, WI which is about an hour and half from our house!  I figured that the brewery shouldn't be the only thing we could do that day, so I planned out a few side trips as well!!

Our first stop was Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, WI.  I figured we needed a place to go before heading to the brewery because it was like 10 a.m. and who wants to drink beer for breakfast?!?!  Wait........I shouldn't of asked that because my husband is probably raising his hand right now!! Well I should say that "I" didn't want to drink beer for breakfast.......so to the gardens we went!!  They also had a butterfly exhibit when we were there:

 

you can even get married here......how cool is that!!

 

Is that just not breath-taking!! It was truly a beautiful site walking through all the paths and seeing different bright colored flowers just everywhere!! In my dream world this is what my backyard would look like.......pavilion, butterflies, bear topiaries and all!!!

The heat and all the walking (hand in hand with my handsome lovey....aww!!) had us exhausted and very HUNGRY!!

 So we headed to Muramoto's for some SUSHI (our absolute favorite sushi spot whenever we are in Mad Town!!):

After lunch I took Scott to Dick's Sporting Goods so he could pick out his B-day Gift.........a golf club!!

Finally we took a very pretty scenic drive to New Glarys (only a half hour drive from Madison) so that 2hotty can get his beer-drinking on and see where it comes from!!

Let me just tell you............this is BY FAR not your ordinary looking brewery (actually I've never been to any other breweries but I never imagined them looking like this).............it is NEW and very fancy schmancy!! This place is amazingly clean and just GORGEOUS!!!

2hotty wasted absolutely NO time going in...................

..........well right after I made him take another picture! Just look at that face!! HA! Oh BTW aren't those doors just dreamy...........definitely dream home material!!

First we stood in a fairly long line to get our drinks and then we went on a FREE self-tour of the place!!! (the glasses were included in the price and we were able to take them home as a souvenier.  I bet you can't guess which one is mine?!?!)

I got Totally Naked (Joanna my goodness how dare you?!?!) and Scott got Spotted Cow (eww.....sounds like a disease you know where!)...................Not literally........those are just names of some of the beers they brew!! (Totally Naked was by far my favorite and spotted cow just sounds nasty and dirty but its really delicious!!)  I of course took a few sips as I was the one driving home..........ABSOLUTELY NO D&D is our rule of thumb!!!!

Hilarious.............I think Scott grew a pair of wings at that moment!!

The outside area was my favorite though!! It overlooks beautiful bluffs.......totally relaxing!!

and that's it that concludes our Anniversary (# 4) Adventure

Oh wait..............I still have to show you what 2hotty got me!!

The Traditional gifts:

some beautiful FLOWERS and some raspberry twizzlers (Hey raspberries are a FRUIT so it totally counts!!)

and this wonderful card:

I too had a card for Scotty:

I made it.........what's new??  I just took some remnant burlap fabric and stitched it together with some left over apple-green yarn (with a "4" detail to mark the year!)! As for the card(s) I added some sweetmessages such as: "4 Things I Love About You", "4 Memories I Love", "4 Things I'm Excited For", and the last one was a hand written message from me!!! I love when my creative juices are flowing!!

Lastly (but not leastly) Scotty got me a little somthin somthin that I have been LUSTING/DROOLING/SWOONING over for a couple years now!! It came in this little box:

with these words written on the top:

Oh yes my friends.............this is what I found inside:

This is the moment when I grew MY wings!!!!

Oh and does the manual count as a book??!?!

I still can't believe I own it!! I find my self staring at in instead of actually wearing it!! I've always wanted the gold watch but the white one is just as great (so trendy at the moment!!). 

Ya forgive me if I start whispering sweet nothings to my MK watch.......I'm so sorry.......you have no idea how long I waited for this thing!!

Wow one pretty hefty post..............but this was one pretty hefty year filled with lots of LOVE and Excitement!! I hope each year continues to be just as great!!

So now tell me have any of you enjoyed going to a brewery?!?! Trust me it's usually not my cup of tea but this time it really was my cup of........beer....haha......it was just awesome!! How about all of those flutterbies and luscious green gardens?!?! Seriously we are going back in the fall..............actually we are going back to the brewery in the fall too!! Any MK lovers out there........I may or may not have refereed to it as "my precious" and snapped if anyone even looked at it.........NO JOKE!!

xoxo Joanna D.

Wedding Week: Present Time

I can't stand it anymore.  Looking at pictures of my wedding day and reminiscing about it has turned me into a teary-eyed mess.  All the blood, sweat, and tears that it took to lead up to our BIG day and then poof it was gone so quickly.  It's not fair!! Therefore, I am skipping a few posts for now so that I can show you what 2hotty and I gifted each other on our 4th wedding anniversary this year !!!!  But first let me give you the down low (or the low down) on how we celebrated our previous anniversaries so far!! 

1ST ANNIVERSARY: PAPER

After some google searching and finding out that paper is the traditional gift to give on your first wedding anniversary....... I was a bit stumped.  I'm not going to lie I was a bit disappointed!! Paper is really not what I had in mind......a nice diamond encrusted necklace would have been more up my alley.  Which makes me wonder, "who was the brains behind the traditional gift giving guide anyway?"  Ahem......probably a guy!! OK let me move on before I get a Xbox controller thrown at me!!
2hotty and I did decide that we would take our first "out of state" vacation as a married couple to no other place but the happiest place on earth............DISNEY WORLD!!!  (I decided along time ago that I wanted to do this before having any kids.......so this was our chance!!!)  You may be wondering how does the traditional gift of paper tie in with Mickey Mouse and the Seven Dwarfs?!?!?!
Well we did need airline tickets to get there didn't we?!?!  And what are the tickets made of?!?!................PAPER!!! WaHoooo we were going to DISNEY WORLD!!

By Far

my favorite

vacation yet!!!

2ND ANNIVERSARY: COTTON

The second year's gift was in the form of a trip too!! We headed back to the same place we called home for a week during our honeymoon!! Door County, WI.  Even though it's in the same state we live in, it totally feels like we are somewhere far far away!!  This place takes me to a zen state of mind where I leave all my troubles at home and have no worries the whole time I am there!  And since COTTON was the traditional gift that year.............Ashbrooke hotel's Egyptian COTTON sheets are what keeps us coming back for more!!

It is luxury and comfort at its finest and I truly have a hard time getting out of bed each morning!! (I know the room decor can throw you off a bit, but trust me it is probably one of the (if not THE) best bed I've ever slept in!!)

Oh and they provide these COTTON robes too!! Double wammy........boo ya!!

Cotton never looked so good!!!  

3RD ANNIVERSARY: LEATHER

For the life of me I can't remember what we did for our 3rd wedding anniversary.  I do know that I was way too busy planning 2hotty's 30th birthday party that year (his birthday is the day after our anniversary) so that is probably where we got sidetracked.  It took up allot of our time and money so I'm sure a getaway was not really an option at the time!!  But I do remember the gift I presented (hehe!) him with! 
Since his birthday was golf themed and he was getting all new equipment..........I knew that he would be needing a pair of new golf shoes as well............perhaps LEATHER golf shoes?!?! (well I'm not quite sure if they are real LEATHER but hey that is OK with me...........I think of leather when I see them.....so it totally counts!!!).

4TH ANNIVERSARY: FRUITS OR FLOWERS

Um ya..........Hello!!! How am I suppose to work with this!! I think my husband would have the strangest look on his face (it would probably look like Joan Rivers.......you know.....no expression at all!!) if I gave him a bouquet of flowers and a basket full of fruit and said "HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABE"!! I'm not saying that men don't enjoy these things..........it's just MY man wouldn't really enjoy it!! So I put my thinking cap on!!
I decided that the way to my husbands heart is through food (isn't it for most men?!?) so I baked him a little somethin somethin.

Fruit Pizza is what I came up with:

I also shaped some of the fruit to look like flowers!!  TaaDaa..........fruit and flowers in the form of a fruit pizza!! 
Am I good or what?!!?!

But wait that's not all!!

I couldn't just gift my husband a fruit pizza and call it a day......no sirree!! After a bit of google searching........ again..........I read somewhere that a Book was the modern gift approach!!  Which don't get me wrong........wasn't too exciting either!!
I don't find 2hotty reading anything but golf magazines these days!!

That is until I found this book:

Oh Yeah.......ding ding ding ding ding!! I won the jackpot!!! You see beer is another way to my husbands precious little heart (there are many others but I would say beer is one of his top 10)!! He lurves it!!  Did I mention we live in Wisconsin?!?!? Well we do........and we are a BEER loving state!! Give him a brat, some ice-cold beer and throw him on a fishing boat all day long...............HE WILL BE ONE DRUNK  HAPPY CAMPER!!

So I decided to surprise 2hotty this year and take him on a little Anniversary Adventure the weekend before our real anniversary (that way we could celebrate his birthday the next weekend).

Which I will have to wait and share in a different post some other time because this one is getting to be way too long.


Until then.....tell me: What did you do on your anniversary?!?  I'm always looking for new ideas!  Do you take on the more traditional approach or are you on the modern gift giving/receiving bandwagon?? I personally am a traditionalist ( Fruit pizza and all!!)!   What was your favorite gift that you received (or vice versa)?  Oh heck it doesn't even have to be anniversary related............any favorite gift will do.......because I'm nosey like that!! Your comments make me HAPPY.......like Disney World Happy.....So dont hold back!!

Present Time (literally!),
xoxo Joanna D.

Wedding Week: The Look

Welcome back to wedding week..........I'm so happy you came back for some more wedding goodness!!

I know....I know.......you have to bare with me as I only have a few more wedding week recaps left!! (see how we met HERE and how he put a ring on it HERE!)

So let's talk about the whole wedding party look shall we.........starting with the BRIDE......Oh wait that's me!!

On my wedding day I wore a Simone Carvalli wedding gown from the Fall 2007 collection. At first I thought of the famous designer Roberto Cavalli and knew I had to try it on even though he had nothing to do with this dress. Cavalli.....Carvalli.....Tomato......Tamato......same difference no?!?!

As soon as I tried the dress on I knew that it was "THE ONE".  It felt so right (but it felt so wrong). It had everything that I was looking for: the sweetheart neckline, some beading and crystals on the top but not too much, straps to support the lady lumps, and a slimming middle to disguise the not so lovely love handles (why do they call them that.......I don't love them by any means!).

I knew I was taking her home as soon as the waterworks came pouring down and my mom was completely speechless (which is rare)!! Thanks mom......and thanks Mr. Carvalli!!

SWOON........

It fit like a glove (thank goodness because I ordered one size smaller........what can I say I was living on the edge!! Can you imagine if it didn't fit?!?!?! Oh the horror!!):

I debated over wearing my hear down for some time but ultimately decided that up was the way to go considering it was a hot July summer day!!

My aunt did my makeup and here I am just touching up:

I wore a fun feathery garter purchased at Victoria Secrets:

My aunt made me two veils to wear!! A really long one to wear to church and a shorter one to wear afterwards:

I chose a classic french manicure on my nails and if you look closely at my ring finger you can see a fun heart detail (It was really a "put the blingy ring here" reminder for 2hotty just in case he forgot! HA!):

As for jewelry I just wore a pair of elegant double hoop earrings with a pearl detail.........a gift from my husband to be:

My wedding bouquet consisted of beautiful white roses encircled by white hydrangeas (my favorite flower!!)..................

..........with swarovski crystals peeking through from the top (which were later taken off to make a beautiful bracelet and a pair of earrings that I will cherish it forever!!):

OK and here is the GROOM:

2hotty wore a basic black suit with a white shirt and textured white tie........oh and a Lilly boutonniere:



As for some blingy bling.......2hotty wore a Movado watch (not gifted by me but we can just pretend......mmkay!):

That's it............no makeup.........no hair-do's...........no manicures or pedicures........oh to be a guy!!

The BRIDAL PARTY:  We had two flower girls and one ring bearer (lucky kid I swear!!):

GROOMSMAN:  The groomsman as well as both fathers all wore a black suit with a brown vest and brown textured tie (not all groomsman pictured):

BRIDESMAIDS:  The bridesmaids (not all pictured) wore a simple knee length Tiffany-blue dress equipped with a hot pink rose bouquet (made by me and the bestest friends in the whole wide world...............the night before the wedding like at 2a.m.!! What was I thinking.........and you thought ordering a size smaller dress was risky!!):

Grooms Parents: 2hotty's mom looked stunning with a bronze beaded floor-length dress:

Brides parents (and siblings): My mom decided to be a DIVA and have two dresses for the wedding.  One for the ceremony (pictured below) and one for the reception!!  The one below was a simple yet very elegant two piece tan dress and jacket!!

Everyone coordinated with the whole tiffany-blue and brown color scheme!!!

The whole bridal party:

Yup we had nine couples total plus the small kiddos!!

(Oh man it's happening again.......I think I have a few tears running down my face!  Someone please hand me a virtual tissue!!)

Just want to give a big shout out to Simone Carvalli and his beautifully designed wedding dress that truly made me feel like a real princess on my special day...............take that Kate Middleton!!

So what did you think??  Anything surprise you?? Perhaps you may have shrieked and gasped a little after reading I ordered a size smaller dress?!?! I must admit that was a bold move on my part!!  Or how about the bridesmaid flowers that I decided to wait until last minute to make?!?!?!  I couldn't of done it without my special elves................they are trully Godsend!! I guess I thought I could be superbride!! Which brings me to my next point: Any of you had any superbride moments?!?!?! There must be more out there................right?!?!?!  Spill those wedding day beans!!!


One blushing bride:
xoxo Joanna D.

Wedding Week: He Put a Ring On It!!

If you haven't already, click HERE to read about how we met!!

















Let me tell you something about my husband, Scotty (aka 2hotty)!!

He is very impatient.

When he wants something, he will move mountains, jump over hoops, and wrestle alligators to get whatever it is that he wants................and when he wants it, he wants it NOW!

Which leads me to my next point!

Scott proposed to me after just 6 months of us dating!!  We met the beginning of July, "officially" started dating the end of July (2005), and then he proposed to me January 14th 2006! 

Shyea I know!!!.......like I said he's very impatient and wastes no time!!

He knew that I was the one right from the beginning!! I had him at Hello (or perhaps it was "would you like a twizzler" haha)!  I would say it was very mutual!! At that time I never really knew if I believed in the whole "love at first sight" thing, but after meeting 2hotty that magical summer I was a full on believer!!! I was hooked and never looked back ever since!!

We did have a long engagement however, a year in a half as a matter of fact!! Although if he had it his way, we probably would have gotten married the same summer that he proposed.  At the time I was only 19, living with my parents, and still trying to figure the whole "what I want to be when I grow up" thing!! I'm sure marriage was not on the list!!!

Our relationship never ever felt rushed or like we were ever moving way too fast.  It was all in good timing.  It was absolutely perfect!!  Every thing happening for a reason.  I spent almost every waking free moment that I had hanging out with 2hotty................EVERY SINGLE DAY!! To this day (after 6 years of being with each other) I can count on two hands how many times we've  been away from each other!! That's about 10 times in 2191 days!!! Yes we are/were very inseparable, and I like it that way!  Some days I go down memory lane and think of our dating days.  It gives me goosebumps.  It gives me pure joy!  It takes me back to the fun laughs we shared, the first awkward kiss, the first "I Love You", the tears, and everything in between!  Oh the memories..............they are very bittersweet!!

I still remember the day 2hotty mustered up the courage to bring up the "M" word...................as in the MARRIAGE word.  We were driving around town on our way to the movie theaters trying to decide what movie we should go see. On our way there you could tell he wanted to say something.  He had his thinking face on.  I know that face REALLY well.  I could tell something was bothering him.  I'm sure he was going through every single scenario over and over in his mind just to find the correct words to say.  He asked me perfectly though!! I was ecstatic!! I knew from the day I met him I would marry him!! He made me feel so happy, comfortable, and I felt very safe around him!!

We didn't waste any time going ring shopping............I believe we went the very same weekend! And from that day forward I knew that at any given moment in time I would be asked by the man I was deeply in love with to marry him!

Want to know how he proposed??

We had planned a long weekend trip to Chicago to visit with family and friends!! It was are first out of state road trip. The week started like any other.........so I thought!  Usually after school or work, 2hotty would pick me up from my parents house.  This day (a Monday I believe) 2hotty had a bouquet of roses for me.  It wasn't my birthday or any type of anniversary, so I was completely confused. I remember asking what the heck  they were for just in case I was forgetting something.  He said something like "just because" and that was the end of it!! The same thing happened the next day though.  He had another set of flowers for me!!
By the third day I was totally confused and forced some information out of him.  He explained that he had given me a dozen roses the first day, about ten the second day, and even less the third day!! Still I had a puzzled look on my face.  He then had told me that by the time he got to just one rose there would be a surprise at the end!!! 

THAT is when the light bulb turned on!! I knew that sooner than later I would have a ring on my finger to show my family and friends!! Oh the butterflies in my stomach were out of control..........I'm surprised I didn't fly away!!  Besides the count down of flowers, 2hotty also took me around town visiting some places that were special to us.  Special places such as Devil's Lake where we had our first date, the golf course where we would sneak out at night to lay on the little bridge to gaze at the stars.  We even watched old episodes of our favorite comedy show, The Chappelle Show (I know it sounds crazy but we watched re-run episodes like everyday)! It was a week long proposal and I was soaking up every minute of it!! 

Finally (on Friday the 13th......dun dun dun) 2hotty had told me we were going to a fancy schmancy dinner so I should wear something nice!! I remember thinking "OMG OMG OMG"....."tonight is the night"......"he's going to propose"......."don't be nervous".........."why the h-e- double hockey sticks would he propose on Friday the 13th"........"oh well your not superstitious anyway"........"you love this man"....."Friday the 13?!?!"...."OK Joanna get it together".........."It's go time"!!  Yes my brain was going a million miles a minute!!

He then pulled up and as I got in the car 2hotty had two roses for me.  Only two!

We had a wonderful meal at one of our favorite restaurants, Fields at the Wilderness, and I thought that maybe at any moment he would propose right then and there!! Wrong.  After dinner we went to the store so that I could pick out a movie!! A movie.......was he serious!?!?! So I did. I picked out Titanic!! HA! That just cracks me up thinking about it to this day.  Why Titanic?!?! I'm not even sure! 
We were staying at his brothers house (where Scott was living at the time) for the night because we were going on our trip the very next day.  I lost all hope that he was going to propose that night!! After watching the first half of the movie (I was literally forcing my self to stay awake) I had told Scott that I was going to change into my pj's because I was really tired.  He tried to stall me..........but I wasn't having any of it!! I'm a Taurus and we are very stubborn peaople.  I marched up stairs and put on my pj's anyway!!  I looked like a hot mess with my hair all over the place, my mismatched PJ's, and my makeup smeared.......I was just a very scary looking hot mess. 
As I walked downstairs and then into the room my jaw hit the ground.  The lights were dimmed, there were lots of candles lit, and a trail of rose peddles leading to Scott holding a small vase with one single rose in his hand!!! He had tried so hard to keep me awake until after midnight as not to propose on Friday the 13th. It was a little after midnight, Saturday the 14th, when he got on not just one knee but both knees (it was more like pleading than asking...haha!) and asked me to marry him!! I was over the moon with joy and excitement!! He made sure that every detail was not forgotten and had even made sure not to propose on the day that people think is suppose to be very unlucky...........you know just in case!! It was PERFECTION!
So there I was lookin like a hot mess with a blingy ring on my finger laying next to my FIANCE with a huge smile on my face!! We were going out of town the next day to spend a great unforgettable weekend in one of my favorite cities!! I couldn't of asked for it to be any other way!!

That is when one chapter ended and another GREAT one began!!


2hotty liked it so he put a ring on it,
xoxo Joanna D.